The Story of Sai: Book One: Earth
by Stella Marshal
Summary: Sai was an ordinary girl. Until the last of her family died and she is thrust into a world she barely understands. Follow her path as Sai relizes her destiny as the Avatar of the World. (First Avatar Fic.)
1. Prologue - The End

**I do not own anything from Avatar. Just Sai and Jai Li. Nothing else. **

**This is not a Sue. I think. R&R.**

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The deep wet coughs splattered against the cavern walls. Sai rested her heavy head on the smooth stone lip of the bed. Grandmother had fallen ill a week ago. Sai had sat beside her for all that time. But not one of her balms or potions had even made Grandmother comfortable. Death loomed like a shadow.

"How about a story Grandmother?" Sai said with forced cheer. "It always makes me feel better."

Grandmother didn't respond, just sank like she couldn't support the weight of her own body anymore.

Taking a deep breath, Sai began, "Long ago, when the Loin-Turtles roamed, the world was… was…" her voice cracked.

Sai couldn't speak. A lump she just couldn't swallow blocked her throat. Her Grandmother was her only family, the only thing she had left in the world. She couldn't lose her. A withered hand stroked her face. Sai grabbed it and held on with all her might.

"Sai, stop that," Grandmother rasped gently. "Don't cry for this old bird. My time has long passed. You have to stand on your own now."

"I don't know how," Sai whispered

"No one ever does. But you'll find your way. I know you're destined for great things, Sai. You have strength inside you, more than you have ever known."

Sai said nothing, just squeezed Grandmother's hand. Hours passed and she did not let go. Not when Grandmother stopped coughing. Not when she could no longer see the rise and fall of Grandmother's chest. Not when Grandmother's hand became icy cold. Finally as sole lamp guttered, Sai reached over and closed Grandmother's eyes for the last time.

Sai stood, her joints stiff and painful after hours of confinement, and stumbled to tree just outside her home. Dropping to her knees, she dug into the ground beneath the tree with her bare hands. As she dug, memories of the ones she had loved, the ones she had lost, bubbled up into her mind. Her Grandmother, wise and constant. Her sister, beautiful and kind. The few, faded memories of her parents. All of them were gone now. She was alone.

Sai took the stone knife from the house and carefully carved Grandmother's name into the tree. She stood and returned to the place that no longer felt like her home. The strings of silver bells hung across the entrance chimed in familiar rhythm when she walked through them.

Sai stared at the cave she lived in for sixteen years. Her fingers ran across the paintings of Spirits and legends that adorned the walls. The colors were chipped and faded, almost unreadable. Grandmother had spent many nights lulling her and Jai Li to sleep with her stories. She touched her own face. Her fingers came away dripping with tears. She felt nothing inside. No hope or relief. No fear or sadness. Not even as she looked at the very spot where Grandmother had taken her last breathe. She wasn't home anymore. She didn't belong here. Sai began to strip the beds with earnest precision. The mattresses and bedding went into the stone box hidden deep within the cave. For more than three hours, she worked by the meager light of the fire, storing the remains of her life into the box: clothes, plants, medicines, the few battered heirlooms, and the workings of Grandmother's craft.

There was no trace of her life left when she was done. The cave might have been abandoned for years. She kicked dirt over the smoldering embers and left that place with a shaking but determined. She didn't spare a glance for the crude square of damp earth cut into the clearing. She marched straight up to the cliff, than stopped at the very edge and took one last look at the world. The sunset painted the sky with pale oranges and reds. The sea stretched out for miles before it washed against the shore a thousand feet below. It was breathtaking. The tears continue to run down her face as she fixed the sight in her mind. With a deep breath, Sai closed her eyes and stepped into the open air.


	2. Prologue - The Beginning

**I do not own.**

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"Wake up. Please Sai," the voice said, edging terror. "For the love of the Spirits, Wake up!"

Sai opened her eyes and felt a vague alarm drain from her chest as her dream faded from her mind. The paper umbrella that Jai Li was holding kept the sun out of Sai's eyes and off of her sister's fair skin. Sai was lying on her back, her head resting uncomfortably on her heavy bundle of firewood. Jai Li looked down at Sai with a look of deep concerned.

"What…What are you doing here, Jai Li?" Sai stuttered.

Jai Li relaxed slowly. "You took so long to get the firewood. I wanted to make sure you didn't get eaten by one of those animals you're always playing with."

Sai stared at her dumbfounded, "You're gonna get me in trouble for that." She said weakly.

Jai Li sat primly on a tree root, crossing her tiny feet. "It's not my fault you fell asleep." She teased.

Sai frowned at her. As usual, Jai Li was completely oblivious to how serious things were. Jai Li was the pretty one. She had to stay inside, to protect her looks. Sai was the worker in the family. Everything about them made that clear. Jai Li was tiny and delicate, a moon pale girl with face of gentle curves and full, small mouth. The picture of a proper young woman. Sai was hardy; tanned, calloused and muscular from her years of labor. Her own face was hard and angular with heavy cheekbones and jaw. Sai's hair was course and wiry, the color of old dirt. Jai Li had a smooth curtain of brown-black water for her hair. The one thing that they shared was their eyes: large, round and color of dark jade. They fit her sister perfectly. Sai always thought they looked comical in her hard face.

Not for the first time, she felt a pang of jealousy. Their parents had named Jai Li for those eyes, claimed that she would be as lovely as jade. Every time Sai heard that she wondered what her parents had thought when they named her after a farm tool. It wasn't fair. Jai Li was almost five years older than her, but she was the one to get all the easy chores. She stayed inside all day, cooking, cleaning and clacking away on her loom while Sai fetched the firewood and water in all kind of weather and memorized every plants and folk story Grandmother set before her. Jai Li was the one who would marry a rich landowner and live without a care for the rest of her life while Sai labored as a Wise Woman. All because Jai Li was the pretty one.

Jai Li just keep smiling at her, unaware of the toxic thoughts floating through Sai's head, "Come on," She bubbled, "Let's get back before Gran-Gran worries."

Sai rolled her eyes at the nickname and got to her feet. She let her anger melt away. It wasn't Jai Li's fault she was pretty. Grudges were pointless when work needed to be done. Instead, she hauled the heavy bundle higher onto her back. Jai Li looked worried as Sai struggled to right herself.

"Maybe, I should help you with that?" She asked. She made no move to help.

Sai shook her head. Jai Li's betrothed would have her beaten if she ruined his new wife's hands. Jai Li nodded and carefully rose, looping her arm through Sai's. Jai Li lead the way with her tiny, graceful steps. It would take forever to get home, but Sai was more than happy to go slow. The forest was her favorite place in the world. She could always lose herself in the warm, gentle air, the bright slants of sunlight tinted green by the canopy of leaves, the feeling of the damp earth on her feet, the fragrant flowers that scented the air.

"Sai, What were you dreaming of?" Jai Li asked, snapping Sai out of her daze.

Sai looked sidelong at Jai Li. Jai Li looked back at her, her dark green eyes unusually serious. Sai felt tension coil in her shoulders, thoughts of the dream coming back to her.

"Why would you want to know that?" Sai asked nervously.

Jai Li stopped and gently cupped her cheek. "Because you were terrified and I want to know why."

Sai turned back to home, "It's not important."

"It is important." Jai Li said, grabbing Sai's arm. Her grip was stronger than she remembered.

Sai carefully studied her shoes, "I dreamed you died." Sai felt her throat close as Jai Li's grip loosen. Her next words were barely a whisper. "You and Grandmother. I couldn't stand it. I tried to kill myself."

This was met with true silence; even the wind had stopped blowing. Sai was envious of Jai Li but not like that. She wanted to be like her sister, not kill her. She didn't have to look at her to see that Jai Li was shocked.

"It was just a dream." Sai said brokenly, still not looking at Jai Li.

"Would you do it again?" Jai Li asked quietly. "If it hadn't been?"

Sai glanced at Jai Li over her shoulder; Jai Li had never sounded so serious.

"But it was, so it's not important." Sai retorted, turning her back.

Jai Li grabbed Sai and spun her, so they were standing face to face. The firewood hit the ground and scattered. She pressed Sai's arms so tight to her sides; she swore she could feel the bruises bloom across her skin.

"Answer me, Sai." Jai Li said. Her voice was low, calm and clear but more forceful than Sai had ever heard.

Sai felt something creep up her chest, constricting. This wasn't like Jai Li, the sweet, reserved girl who could barely carry a basket. She stared at Sai now, her face set in hard, unyielding lines. Her hands were stone claws. Even her eyes changed, a fathomless purple so dark it was almost black. It was like something had stepping into the shell of her sister's body.

"Yes or No, Sai." She said slowly. "Would you choose to live or die?"

Sai fought to control herself, reliving the dream; the sucking void in her heart, the whipping wind as she fell, horrific pain when her body meet the water.

"Yes or No!" Jai Li yelled angrily.

Sai fought to think, to breathe, to do anything. She felt like she was being crushed, frozen, and drowned.

Jai Li's voice dropped to a whisper, "Life or death, Sai, Life or death."

She choked, her heart thudding in her chest, the words stumbling out,

"I WANT TO LIVE!"

* * *

Sai woke with the salt water stinging her eyes and began to flail uselessly through the water. Her aching body told her this was no dream. Her lungs burned as she fought to hold her breathe. A hundred feet above her the moon glittered coldly, mocking her. The pressure built in her chest. She felt something huge and hard under her, pushing her up to the surface. She was nearly crushed flat against it as she was speed to the surface. It broke the water with a crash that resounded in her ears.

Sai was down on her hands and knees, retching water and grabbing great lungful of air. When she had stopped, her head fell on her back, tear-filled eyes staring at the unfamiliar stars. Her body was one giant bruise, throat burned from coughing and salt water, and the early spring air was so cold it almost burn. She had never in her life felt so happy. When her breathing had calmed, she considered what was beneath her. She felt her eyes travel up the huge field of golden scales up the enormous arm to the beast that held her. She blinked as her mind rejected what her eyes saw. Then her heart leapt into her throat. The beast that held her in its claw was a Lion-Turtle.

As a child, Grandmother had told her tales about Lion-Turtles, Grandmother had said They were the oldest beings in the world, as ageless as the stars and wise beyond measure. They also only appeared to those They judged worthy. She had never believed them. They were just stories. Yet here was one cupping her in His paw. Sai gazed up at him in eyes searched her face carefully, looking for something. He gently nodded and spoke.

"_You have suffered your greatest loss. The life you have lived for sixteen years is over. But do not despair. For just as Spring is born from the depths of Winter, your new life begins today. Start at the mountains that divide two cities. Only the highest peak, will you find what you seek."_

Carefully, He set her on a rocky cliff. As Sai stood, level with His eyes, the Lion-Turtle spoke once more.

"_The road before you is long. It will lead you to many places and connect with many others. But one you can choose where it will lead."_

Sai was mesmerized. His voice was deep, soothing, and commanding. His golden head practically blazed against the starry sky. She barely noticed when the Lion-Turtle raised His paw and touched two claws gently to her heart and forehead. Brilliant green light blazed and Sai felt warmth flood her body. Then the darkness enveloped her once more.


	3. Jaing City

No Own. No Sue

Sai opened her eyes to the golden dawn and unstuck her cheek from the dewy grass. Picking herself up, she felt a chasm opened in her belly. She remembered, everything. Grandmother, the cliff, everything. She fell to her knees, hands clasped over her thundering heart. She had spoken to a Lion-Turtle. A Lion-Turtle! Her mind tried to deny it had been real but Sai knew that it was, with every fiber of her being.

Sai tried to steady herself with a breath. She knew one thing. To ignore what such a divine being had told her would be beyond foolish. She would find the mountain that divided two cities. She would look for it for years. She would scour every land. She would find the Mountain if it took the rest of her life.

She turned around and found herself looking at an enormous mountain range. On either side, stood a ramshackle village. A rough path before her cut straight through the plains and cities to the tallest mountain in the range. No more than a day's walk from here.

"_That was easy."_ She thought.

She rose to her feet and began to walk.

Nothing along the road was familiar to her. Where ever she was, it was a long way from home. Home was a cave, a rich forest, a clean lake to play in. The earth here was scared and broken. Every mark of old pain echoed in her heart. Her mouth burned with the taste of salt and ash. With no trees to soften it, the sun scorched her eyes. Strange as it was, she felt better than yesterday. She had something to work on and work had always soothed her.

It was midday before she finally encountered another person. It was a ragged adult and child. Both were filthy and starved, and both had long, lined faces of the hopeless. The adult was scratching at the ground while the child sat on a flat rock.

Her approaching footsteps made the child look up. He stared at her with enormous black eyes. They were gummy and sad. Sai smiled tentatively at him, and he grinned back. Most of his teeth were missing. He held out a bowl. The liquid inside looked milky brown, but it smelled clean. Just as she reached out to take it, a rock hit her squarely in the shoulder.

The adult was watching her with weary eyes, another stone held in his hand. The message was clear. Go away. She backed away hands held out, and dashed down the road, as far away from those sad, empty eyes as she could.

The closer to the village, the more people she encountered. Most men and all the women and children wore the same frayed tunics in shade of brown or grey. Several of the young men wore matching dark brown uniforms with thick leather armor. A stylized bird graced the back of their shirts. The sun glinted off their armor and weapons. One and all strutted down the road like overbred roosters. Beggars flinched away from them. But every person, soldier and citizen, watched on Sai with suspicion eyes.

Late in the afternoon, she arrived in the village to the west of the mountains. On every street she walked down shutters closed and people ducked into doorways. She knew she must be a sight; salt crusting her skin and her hair matted and tangled. Paired with her pale green dress, she could understand why they avoided her.

"_I had better find some way to blen…"_

Sai smacked right into wall of people and fell flat.

"_Clever." _She told herself.

Mindfully, she stood and peered over the crowd. A company of the armored men were lined up on a platform. Their leader stood at the front, checking a slab with lines etched into it. He was very old, judging by his long white bread and lined face. He was maybe even as old as Grandmother, but he was still tall and broad shouldered. His uniform was better crafted, the weave finer and the embroideries smooth. His bone and leather armor and stone sword were scarred but well-taken care of.

"That's General Rong."

Sai jumped and spun around. Directly behind her, a young man stood. He was nothing special; A little taller than her, black hair, brown eyes, with a long face. He carried not sword or armor, just a thin Blackglass dagger. He was not as well dressed as the soldiers but far better than any of the peasants.

"What makes you think I didn't know that?" Sai asked haughtily.

He remained expressionless as he looked at her, but Sai thought she saw something sparkle, deep in his eyes.

"The look of confusion gave it away. General Rong is the local warlord." The man scoffs "He offers protection of the people from King Tai Yang, the ruler of Yangtze village across the mountain." He must have seen her confusion. "The people of Yangtze Village and this village, Jiang, have been at war for more than five generations."

On the platform, the General began to speak. Sai was far enough not to hear the words. Slowly ordinary people brought up bags half full of grain or rice or withered looking animals. Some families had no food but left their sons and daughters among the possessions claimed by Rong's army.

Sheng eyed the soldiers with disgust. "He says he's the only thing that protects these people but I think he's just a thug."

The man turned his back on it and Sai, shaking his head in disgust, and walked away. Sai watched him go, bewildered.

Almost causally, he said over his shoulder, "Be careful. These men will eat a little country girl alive if you run into them alone. And by the way, I'm Sheng."

Sai looked between the soldiers and Sheng until her head spun. But she could not make any sense of it. With one last stolen glance, she ducked her head and hurried, out of the village and into the mountains.


	4. The Tunnel

Sai was surrounded in the green womb of the forest. She was miles from the coughing dust and empty fields of the village. Even though it was far from home, the plants and trees were familiar. She sent a silent thanks to Grandmother for making her learn about plants and animals. The water was clear and sweet and washed the salt from her mouth. As she walked, she scrounged up some berries and nuts. It was comforting to know that at least she could understand the land; even if she could not understand anything else. She sat at the foot of a great tree, eating, and finally allowed her mind to wonder.

The Lion-Turtle's words returned to her.

"_On the highest peak I will find what I seek. What do I seek? What in the world could he have meant?"_

Sai shook off the thought.

"_There's no use wondering. I suppose I'll find out soon enough."_

The sun just touched the horizon when she reached the base of the mountain. A steep cliff of rock rose to the heavens. She looked up to peak and felt the blood drain from her face. It would take weeks to get to the top. How could she even climb it? The closest path was at least twice as high as the tallest trees.

She backed up; hoping to see a handhold or something. There was nothing. She walked along the foot of the mountain. Panic was starting to bloom in her chest.

"_No, No, NO! The Lion-Turtle wouldn't lie, would He?" _

"_He might. Even Spirits lie." _Some small part of her whispered_. "If He was even there at all."_

She started to run. Fast. As if she could outrace her traitorous thoughts. The pain Sai had buried was welling up. She started to cry silently. So long as she had focused on the path before her, the pain had faded. Now it returned full force. It hit her like the impact on the water. She had lost everything now. Her family, her home, now her trust in the Spirits. She was completely alone, lost in a strange land with no way to get home. She stood stock still, hiccupping and trying to get ahold of herself. She had to think.

**THUD!**

The sudden noise jarred Sai from her misery and sent her stumbling to its source. Fifty paces back, a gaping hole was set into the side of the mountain. It hadn't been there before she was sure. The hole was at least twice as wide as she was tall. She would have to be blind to miss it. Where had it come from?

Sai walked to the entrance and ran a hand over the rough stone. It wasn't weathered at all. It was like a section of the stone just suddenly dropped away. She looked into the cave. It was more of a tunnel. The air inside was cold and damp. It smelled like darkness and hidden things. With a deep breath, Sai walked into the side of the mountain.

She was just a few steps into the tunnel when the crystals started to glow. The steady green-blue light guided Sai through the labyrinth of tunnels. Without them, she would have wondered endlessly until she died. But still they made her uneasy. They were only on the ceiling of the tunnel, in lines too straight for natural formation. Someone had put them there.

The crystals lead her to a large chamber that was half natural cave and half carved rooms. The glowing crystals rose above her as tall as century-old trees. Sai stared, awe and fear mixing in her mind. Who, or What, could have done this? Looking around she saw there were only two options: Go back the way she had come or continue on to the tunnel set between two long, flat slabs of solid rock. With only a moment's hesitation, Sai walked between the slabs and through the mountain.

The tunnel curled in a lazy circle. Sai walked the path, every step increasing the tightness in her chest. She could see thin rays of light coming around the bend. She was finally going to see where everything that had happen would lead.

Sai finally stepped out into sunlight. She was on the very peak of the mountain. The world lay spread before her. Mountains changing from green to tan to gray and fading into the horizon. The sun, dipped low in the western sky, painted the world with soft warmth. The sky was so close it seemed to rest on the peaks. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

A sharp crack snapped Sai back to reality. Before she could react, the ground turned to mush. Her knees were already stuck fast and the ground just kept pulling her in. In a breath, her arms and chest were encased. Sai tried to move but a second later only her head was above ground. She screamed as the Earth swallowed her whole.


	5. The Peak

Sai awoke to arguing voices. She knew there were two of them: a man and woman. The man sounded gravely and hoarse like he'd been screaming but his tone was soothing. The woman's voice tinkled like the bells Grandmother had used to ward off evil. She sounded furious.

"I don't care want she wants. She was following you. We should have just left her buried." The woman said.

"She could have been lost. She couldn't have known about our bending. No one does." The man answered.

"_Bending?"_

The woman snapped at the man. "And we agreed to keep it that way. You and I both know what would happen if either of our cities found out. Not just about the bending. I'm a Panda Lily of the Sun Court. You're a Jing for Rong."

Sai was feeling rather confused at this point.

"You know what would happen if someone…" The woman states coldly.

"If you really want to keep that a secret, you might not want to say these things when our little shadow is awake and listening." The man interrupted offhandly.

Sai sat bolt upright. The sun was high in the sky. Blinking furiously, she looked for the man and woman. The man was sitting with his legs crossed on an improbably placed rock while the woman stood stiffly beside him. Both were staring straight at her.

"Well," the man said calmly "Why don't you tell us why you were following me?"

Sai swallowed. They were intimidating. The man was huge, shirtless and shoeless. He wore the uniformed pants of one of the soldiers Sai had seen in the village. His tanned skin rippled with muscles and scars; His face looked like a mashed up rock, one eye milky white.

"Well," the woman said not so calmly. "Why did you come here?" She demanded.

She was intimidating in a different way. The woman was easily the most beautiful woman Sai had ever seen, more beautiful than her sister. Long, black hair shone like blackglass and was intractably knotted with black and white flowers woven into it. Her tunic dress was the same pale green as her eyes. Her lovely face, painted bone white with her lips and eyelids stained black as her hair, was set in a fierce snarl. The man put a hand on the woman's arm.

"Pease, Oma. You're scaring the girl." He said.

"She should be scared, Shu!" the woman, Oma, shot back.

The man, Shu, shrugged, "Let's hear her story before we do anything drastic."

"Fine" Spat Oma. She turned to Sai "So, girl, tell us your story and make it quick."

Sai took a shuttering breath. Both Oma and Shu looked at her.

"I am not from around here."

Oma snorted.

"My name is Sai. I came from Hew Sin province, just outside Xiang. I lived in the caves there with my parents, sister, and Grandmother."

Shu furrowed his brow "Hew Sin. That's a good five weeks from here. How'd you get here?"

Sai blushed, "Ummm." Shu waved her on. "I used to live with my family. My mother fell off a cliff when I was five. My father was drafted by King Cheng a few months later. My sister disappeared three years after we got his death notice. Grandmother and I were all that was left."

Oma glared at her. Get to the point was her silent demand.

"Until Grandmother got sick. She died just a few days ago." Sai stumbled. "I couldn't… couldn't bear losing the last member of my family. So I threw myself off the cliff near my home. I wanted to be with them, in the afterlife. Only, I was saved by a…"

Sai paused. She looked at Oma and Shu.

"_Would they believe me?" _she thought. _"But I can't lie to them."_

Sai sighed "I was saved by a Lion-Turtle."

Oma stiffen and Shu leaped to his feet.

"You're lying. There's no such thing as a Lion-Turtle." Oma shrieked at Sai. "Even if there was such a thing, it would never speak to such a lowly peasant."

Shu stroked his sandy beard. "Don't mind Oma. She doesn't put much stock in legends." He stated gently. "Please, go on with the story."

Sai continued, "The Lion-Turtle carried me to the cliff outside town. He told me to go the tallest mountain that separate two cities. That I would find something to help me there. Please, is there something He could have meant here? Do you know what He meant?"

Oma glared at Shu, who looked back her blankly. Something, heavy and unsaid, passed between them.

Shu sighed, "I sorry, Sai. I don't think we can help you."


End file.
